


Premonition

by Willowthebark



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series), Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), David Adopts Max (Camp Camp), Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Max's (Camp Camp) Parents Are Bad Parents, Max's Vulgar Mouth, child neglect warning, first fanfiction so be gentle, maxvid shippers can get out, sooner or later anyways
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22837933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowthebark/pseuds/Willowthebark
Summary: In a world where magic existed, it also housed creatures of no origin. They are a mix between animal and human, being able to switch between the two. Only 9% of the entire human population had this strange 'mutation', making them harder to find among the crowd. Mostly because they are taught to hide from the world. Many of them, though, embrace their animal counterpart. So much so that parents send off their kids so they could be taught to control their abilities. And Max was one of the 'lucky' ones to be born with this. Woop-de-fucking-do.
Relationships: David & Max (Camp Camp)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan-fiction that hasn't died within my google docs so that's nice

Max woke up in a cold sweat, sending chills down his spine. It was still early in the morning when he looked at the top of the tent. Almost as dark as it was when he went to sleep.

‘That damn fucking dream again, what does it even mean?' Max thought with a scowl appearing on his face. The Icewing always freaked him out, like it was staring into his soul. He decided that going into the dining hall like this would grant him some confused looks from the counsellors, and Max hated the thought of that. Instead, Max quietly got out of the cot and pulled on his sweater. 

‘Going into the forest might help me cool down, I feel like shit.’ Max didn’t feel like waking Neil, so he stepped silently out of the tent, and into the peaceful forest. 

He started out slow, and continued gaining speed as he went deeper and farther into the forest. Max remembered his way through the winding trees, and came out to a nice, small clearing of land that would give a good view of the sunrise. It was his favorite place to think when David wasn’t keeping an eye on him like a hawk, or when Nikki jumped him out of nowhere. 

Whenever he could slip away, this was the first place that came to mind. And he had a lot of things on it right now. He sat down on a patch of grass while he was deep in thought about his nightmare. Max was about to doze off until he heard a scream so high pitched he flinched in surprise. He looked up into the sky to see clear blue and the sun shining brightly in his eyes, causing him to squint.

‘Fuck. I should probably go back to camp, everybody’s awake by now.’ Max thought, hurriedly getting up from his nap and patting away any dirt or grass. His hair was still a mess, but no one would question it. As he ran back soundlessly from the clearing, a chilly mist rolled in. He almost walked into campgrounds until he saw the Icewing backing all the campers into a corner while David and Gwen were shielding them with their hands. Max’s first instinct was to charge at the dragon and fight him off, but he forced himself to crouch before one of them saw him.

‘Okay, I should probably fucking think before I jump into this mess and get myself killed- on second thought..’ Max thought. The Icewing was a pale blue, and the brown-red scars were showing clearly on her rough scales. She was tiny, small enough that any dragon on all fours would probably scare her off. One of the only reasons Rainwings aren’t frightening is that they are too lazy to do anything, as the stupid stereotype goes. Anybody with a brain will understand that a Rainwing that actually gives a shit about their life isn’t a force to be reckoned with. Not that he did, but still. Max smirked at the plan he conjured up in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just copy-pasting this from google docs so hope that goes well

While David was trying to huddle the kids closer, a dull blue dragon, roughly the size of the flagpole, jumped in front of the kids. David turned to Gwen, who had a look of surprise on her face. He was about to ask her to take the kids into the dining hall, until the pale blue dragon let out some noise sounding slightly like a gasp. Standing on its back legs, the other dragon, it’s color now a bright red, had its mouth open and showing two sharp teeth. The dragon raised its arms while on two legs, about to strike the pale blue dragon, until she backed back into the forest, growling in some sort of language that David didn’t understand. All he knew was that this other dragon saved them from being eaten by that rude blue dragon. The mist that gathered around the camp has now disappeared, and David could take a good gander at the dragon in front of him. 

‘That dragon is probably a Rainwing..’ David thought with wonder. Rainwings were always so majestic for him, because their scales could change with emotions and blend into the environment as if they weren’t there in the first place. 

\-----------

‘Huh. I didn't think that would work.’ Max thought, stepping down onto all fours with a neutral expression. He wanted to chase after the Icewing that was threatening his friends until he heard a voice from behind him.

“So, what now?” Gwen said, barely audible. Max turned to see Gwen with a face of, ‘please don’t eat me.’ He looked back with an almost distant expression and let his scales fade away to his surroundings. A rustling from behind the group of awestruck campers caused David and Gwen to look back.

\------------

“So...what the fuck just happened?” 

‘Max, you’re okay!” David said, possibly trying to stay calm with the possibility of two dragons running loose around Camp.

“Where were you? We went to get everyone out of their tents for breakfast and you weren’t there.” Gwen said.

“Well, I was just taking a morning stroll, as  _ David _ would put it..” Max muttered. 

“Oh my god Max! You should have come back earlier! We were walking back and then we got cornered by this blue dragon and then ANOTHER blue dragon…” As Nikki rambled on, Max asked Neil for a rundown of the event. After he gave an explanation, Max sighed.

“ That  _ does _ sound pretty interesting. A lot of chaos for just the morning.” 

After that, the kids got their long-awaited breakfast and Max finally got his cup of coffee. 

“Well, that was quite an interesting way to start the day! I  _ was _ planning for us to do some arts and crafts,” Max heard Dolph sigh in the background, “..but I think learning a little about dragons would be more interesting!” Nikki’s eyes shot up to David's face, her face brightening. He heard a plethora of voices murmur in agreement to the lesson. 

“Oh, don’t get your hopes too high, kids. We just found this dusty book about dragons laying around.. wait, David, where  _ did _ you find that book?’ Gwen handed the book to David. Max raises an eyebrow at the book, it feels like he’s seen it before. 

“I’m pretty sure that I found it in the attic,” David said as he patted away the dust. It seemed excessive since there was barely any dust on it. As he opened the book, the other kids gathered around to hear him. Max still sat where he was, sipping on his coffee. As David read the title, Max almost choked while he was drinking. ‘That’s  _ my _ fucking book! Did I leave it up there or something?’ Max thought, trying to hide the shock in his face. Neil looked up and raised an eyebrow at Max. He just rolled his eyes at Neil and he looked back at David. Now Max was a lot more interested in what Camp man would read from the book, since he remembered its outdated information. Gwen just was in the corner of the room, eyes locked on her phone. 

“ Dragons are very mysterious and dangerous creatures, as we only know 4 sub-species of them. There may be more, but for now, we are unsure.” David said, eyes reading the lines of the page. Max was trying not to roll his eyes at the false things the book claimed.

“Dragons are their own mythological species, having the smallest percentage of being a hybrid..” David continued on. 

“Dragons aren’t even their own species.. “ Max muttered, catching the attention of Gwen as she looked up from her phone. 

“Do you have something to say, Max?” She said with a shit-eating grin on her face. 

Max looked at her with a stare that could only kill. 

“As a matter of fact, I  _ do _ .” He said.

“That book is outdated as  _ fuck.”  _ Max remarked. He heard David say language in the corner. He listed a few other things that the book got wrong. Max didn’t notice that everyone had their eyes stuck on him.

“Dragons aren’t even their own species, or as special as the book says. They’re also not the only mythical creature that has the same powers, so the book’s completely wrong on that aspect-” Neil interrupted Max on his rant.

“Wait Wait Wait, how do you know so much about dragons? I didn't even know that much about them!” Max shrugged. 

“I dunno. I guess they’re just interesting.” Max looked away, finishing up his coffee. 

“Well, I’m glad you like that lesson so much, Max! I almost wish you were here when those dragons were!” David seemed too enthusiastic about the fact that he wanted Max to be with the group of campers that could’ve been  _ killed.  _ Max raised an eyebrow as he looked at David. 

Max rolled his eyes to stop the awkward silence between them. Max looked away. “Is this lesson thing over yet?” Max said in a monotone voice. David sighed, and smiled. 

“Well, since the rest of the book is just some indecipherable writing, you kiddos deserve some free time today after this morning!” A rumble of agreement followed the statement as the kids raced outside. Max stayed in the Mess hall, though. He wanted to see what that ‘nonsense’ was about. He never remembered it as nonsense, but Max couldn’t put his finger on it. He’ll have to see it for himself. 


	3. Chapter 3

“So you’re telling me…” The voice paused, and adjusted his stance, “That there’s a rogue Rainwing protecting the camp?” The Icewing flinched when the voice from the shadows finished their question.   
“Yes Sir. The scouts never reported them, and there were no sightings of the rogue.” The Icewing was scared of their new co-leader, even with his size being even smaller than the Commander.   
“Hm. that’s..” They paused as a cracking sound came from the shadows. “..interesting.” He paused, and shifted in the dark. A voice, sharp as an icicle, cut through the silence.   
“Send another Icewing. Tomorrow morning.”  
\------------

Max had to figure out how David got his hands on the book. He swore that he left it under his bed, but he might be wrong. “David wouldn’t snoop through my stuff, because if he dared touch a single one of his possessions, he should expect Max to tear-” Somebody calling to him broke his line of thought. It was Nikki, waving her hands-or claws- wildly above her head next to Neil, who stood calmly while holding a book. It seemed to be about the periodic table.

“Hey Max! Do you wanna create chaos and almost destroy camp in the process?” Neil shifted uneasily.   
“How could you think of that after this morning?” Neil asked.  
“How could you not?! We literally just witnessed a dragon fight!” She was practically bouncing at this point. Her ears were perked up as high as Max thought they could be.  
Neil sighed. “It was pretty interesting to witness it. I wish I could’ve written it down.” Honestly, Max had the same feeling. He wanted to know where the Icewing came from, and why they seemed to hate him so much.  
“Oh, Of course you would Neil.” Neil and Nikki started to argue, like they do in a friendly way of course. 

Max was able to slip away into the mess hall. In the mess hall, he saw Gwen slouching on the left wall, scrolling on her phone. Max tried to sneak around her, but she was quick to react.  
“What do you want?” Gwen glared at him.   
“You seem to be in a bad mood.” Max grumbled. Gwen let out a small sigh.   
“Just tell me why you’re here. The sooner I give you what you want, the less trouble there’ll be; Or more.” He put up his arms in defeat.   
“Calm down, I just wanted to ask you for the weird dragon book. Fuck, overreacting much?” Max remarked. Gwen eyed me with suspicion.   
“Why? You don’t plan on doing something bad with it, right?”   
“You don’t need to know.” Max remarked.  
“Then I’m not going to tell you where the book is.” Gwen glanced at her phone and back at Max. He huffed, and looked away, trying to think of something.   
“Could I guess?” Max asked. Gwen shrugged as she crossed her arms.   
“It’s more fun than looking through social media.” She muttered. Gwen watched as Max glanced around the room, looking at every spot something might be hidden. It seemed as though he was a cat, searching for their next meal. His eyes finally landed on the trapdoor leading to the attic, and it seemed that his eyes flickered. He fixed his gaze to me with a questioning look on his face.   
I nodded. “Bingo.” 

Gwen swore that she saw the edges of his mouth perk up for just a second.  
\-------------  
The next day, Max begrudgingly went along with the activity David had planned. From what he heard, we were doing archery. Which, in hindsight, is not a good idea for kids that have no experience with a bow. As soon as the bows went out, Max gave his bow to Neil, because he wouldn’t like to imagine what Nikki might do with two bows, and ran off to find the dusty book. Max ran swiftly to the mess hall, making sure he avoided David and his.. Peppy-ness.

The heavy door opened with a loud creak. Max cringed at the noise, knowing that it was too loud not to be noticed by Gwen or David. Before he even got the ladder down, he heard the creak of the door behind him. ‘Speak of the devil..’ He thought. Hurriedly, he tried to look for a hiding spot, but was coming up to a blank. Instead, he closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for whoever was behind the door to see him and scold him or something. But he didn’t hear that. “Huh. It must’ve been a raccoon or something…”She mumbled. It was Gwen, he knew that. But how the fuck did she not see him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruh roh


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max's secret is revealed.

Max felt chills run down his spine. When the door slammed shut, he let out a deep breath. 

‘How did I do that? Especially like this..’ He shook himself out of it. Max has decided that he wants to ignore whatever just happened and reach that stupid book already. He pulled down the ladder with little difficulty and climbed up into the dusty attic. He forgot how much clutter was up here after Mr. Campbell stopped running away from the government. A quick glance around and he saw books in all sorts of languages, like Russian and Thai.

After looking behind vaults and stacks of papers, Max finally found where David hid the book. Now that he had the book to himself, Max took a good look at it under a flashlight he nabbed. The cover was ripped and torn around the edges, signaling the age of this ancient artifact. On the cover was a dragon curled around a purplish gem that shone under the flashlight. When Max heard commotion outside, he quickly hid the book in his pocket and put down the ladder. Luckily, there was no one in the Mess hall to hear the clatter.   
When he exited the Mess hall, he saw everyone standing in the corner of the activity field, seemingly staring at him with a scared expression. Next thing he knew, he was being raised into the air. Confused, Max kicked around, trying to shake himself out of the grasp. When he finally faced his captor, it was an Icewing. She was a pale, icy blue with scars all over her body. Her tail was injured from a sort of bear trap, too. But the most obvious feature was her eyes. They were blood-red, and staring directly at him.   
“Fuck.” He whispered, whilst trying to get the ice-wing’s claw off his hoodie. She smiled deviously at Max. 

“Honestly, I don’t know why he insisted on you being a threat. You couldn’t hurt me or any other dragon even if you tried.” She said, and started a raspy laugh, shaking her head. He’s lucky that she said this in the old dragon language, because saying this in english would throw off massive red flags. His best chance was to keep her talking. Max struggled a bit, before asking,   
“What do you want from me?” In a shaky voice. Acting on impulse won't save Max now.

“Well, a lot of things actually.” She closed her eyes and began counting the reasons she needed me - alive, thankfully- and Max took his chance. His claw raked the ice-wing’s cheek, causing her to jump and drop Max as she tried to tend to the wound. After a few wipes she gave up, and stared at Max growling. He managed to fall to his knees, so the fall didn’t do much. Looking back at her, she sneered and laughed a little.  
“You sneaky little dragon. I didn’t understand how you managed to defeat our best soldier, but now I know why. It won’t matter, though, because I think the leader said, alive or dead. Which is good news because I never planned on keeping you alive.” He wanted to shut her up. It was getting tiring at this point. 

“..And after I kill you, the leader said nothing about your friends.” That was it. The final straw. He was getting tired of this speech. Right after she said that, Max turned into his animal mid-air, catching the ice-wing off guard. He managed to keep her pinned to the ground, but she swiftly knocked him off. She ran until the edge of the training grounds, looked back, and smiled back at me before she disappeared into the undergrowth. He looked back at the others still huddled, but instead looking at him with fear. After quickly realizing what happened, Max took a step back, before he, too, disappeared into the undergrowth. He heard the faint voice of David calling for him. Max ran faster, still trying to comprehend the moment. He makes a complete u-turn and went towards the lake.


	5. Sort things out

Okay, I should clarify a few things.

  * Max isn't the only one to have an animal-mutation thing. Every camper and counsellor has one in this AU, since the camps around Lake Lilac are for controlling it.
  * The time is around the middle of summer. Some campers know their animals, while some don't.
  * Dragons aren't the only ones with a bunch of different species. 
  * None of the Icewings that will be featured have a human form. They're all 'fully' dragon.



Ok heres everyone:

_Max(10)-Rainwing/Dragon_

_Neil(11)-Raven_

_Nikki(10)-Unknown_

_Nerris(10)-Unknown_

_Harrison(10)-Phoenix_

_Preston(12)- Peacock_

_Ered(13)-Fossa_

_Dolph(9)-Unknown_

_Space Kid(9)-Ring-Tailed cat(if you haven't heard of them they're adorable uwu)_

_Nurf(12)-Lion_

_Gwen(25)-Tabby cat_

_David(24)-None(..none yet.)_

_Daniel(25)- Blizzard corn Snake with his signature blue eyes_

_Quartermaster(XX)-???_

The other camps also have animal/human campers, but I won't list them yet.


	6. Chapter 5

The countless thrumming of his feet stopped as he reached the familiar dock. He had gone to this place numerous times, for the same reason as that spot in the forest. Only this place was closer to camp, which made it very easy for David to find him. He didn’t really care at this point.  
He walked toward, making the older-than-him boards creak under his feet. He sat down by the water, his sneakers touching the calm waters. A few months ago, he asked David (reluctantly) about the old dock. He said that this dock was unused because of how deep the waters are. It made him shiver to think why they deemed it too deep. Was there an accident? He hated the thought of drowning. If he wanted to go, he would’ve wanted to go quickly. 

His thoughts then went to what would happen when he got dragged back to camp by whoever decided to run for him. Probably David; maybe Gwen. Hopefully not Quartermaster. What would his friends think of him? Nikki wouldn’t really care, but he saw when the other dragon was there. They were terrified. Would they be like that to him? And what would David think? This camp was supposed to be for people who didn’t find out yet. It just proves the fact that his parents didn’t care what camp they sent him to. 

Max’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard a rhythmic creak on the boards. He didn’t look back. He closed his eyes, expecting for whoever was behind him to yell and take him back to that run-down camp. He heard the boards creak next to him and the water sloshing around.  
“This is a really nice view, isn't it?” Of course they didn't yell at him. It’s David, he’d probably cry about stepping on a flower. He exhaled, opening his eyes and looking at David. 

“You’re not mad?” Max asked. He wanted to be sure.

“Why would I be?” David looked back at him with a confused look on his face, but he still smiled. The smile looked genuine enough.

“I’d understand if you wanted to keep something like that secret.”He kept his cheery tone even. Max leaned against one of the dock posts. Max looked down into the still waters. The duo stayed silent for a few moments. He could hear birds chirping in the distance. The sun still shone brightly, although there were a few clouds. It was the middle of the day, but it didn’t feel like it. 

“Uh, Max?” David asked. Max hummed in response.

“Do your parents know you’re a dragon?” Max went still. He wanted to rat out his parents so much at that moment. How his father thought about his species. How his life was. He wanted to tell David everything. He held his tongue before answering with a simple, “Yeah.”  
The silence continued before he heard Gwen stomping through the forest with the elegance of a blind elephant. Max sunk into his blue worn hoodie. 

“Alright Max, why the fuck did you go around all the way though the forest just to be a five minute walk from camp?”Gwen hissed. It seems that she was trying to sniff them out. Max snickered into his oversized hoodie. He saw David smile a little as he stood up and whispered ‘language’. 

“I'm leading both of your asses back to camp before you guys somehow get lost.” Max stood up and dusted himself off. He followed shortly after David took the lead of the way back to camp.  
\------------------------  
The walk back to camp wasn’t too long, but it felt like hours. It may have been because Max was internally panicking about what would happen back at camp. It might have also been because of David’s constant rambling about the plants littered on and around the path. Max tuned it out until he saw the familiar flag pole. Gwen, probably just as tired from David’s mini-lecture on plants as he was, dismissed herself to the counsellors cabin. David led him to the mess hall, where he heard the chattering of the other campers. He let out a deep breath, and pushed the door. It creaked, like always. His food seemed to already be on the table, with Nikki staring hungrily at the tray. Neil was arguing with Harrison, Dolph was trying to draw as he ate, Ered seemed to be finished because she was just listening to music, and everyone else seemed to be eating and acting normally. He let out a small sigh of relief and went to sit down next to Nikki. I guess his reveal didn’t make much of a difference.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry that this took so long, but i lost like all of my motivation for this. Ill try to upload this more often.

For the first time in forever, Nikki was staying quiet while he ate. Honest to God, he kinda thought they switched bodies. This time, Neil was the one bugging him. As soon as he saw me come in, Nikki looked up at Neil and they shared a moment of understanding. “So, I know this might be bothering you, but-” “It is.” Max thought, but didn’t stay a word. This was one of those times that Neil was actually excited about something that happened at camp. “-I have a few questions.” “How much is ‘few’?” Max said, glancing sharply at Neil. He didn’t seem to notice. “Well, it's not too many..” Neil nervously dismissed the long sigh that Max had given as an answer. “Fine.” Neil practically glowed. “Okay then! First question, what species are you?” “Dragon.” “No, I meant-” Max interrupted him. “I know what you meant. A Rainwing.” “O-kay..” Neil scribbled something down in a notebook. “Next question, What type of abilities do you have?” This one was difficult to answer. Even Max didn’t fully understand or realize his powers, and it was only last night that Max had figured out that he could do it as a human. The only abilities he knew about was camouflage and his venom. After noticing the long pause, Neil seemed to scribble out the question. “I shouldn’t have thought that you knew that much..” he trailed off and never finished that sentence. After that, he asked a few more questions about dragons and left me alone. Today was a Saturday, which meant this was a free day. After yesterday, he’s going to need it. David probably wouldn’t mind if Max went for a walk. It’s fine anyways, he knows his way back to camp. He was so close to freedom, but he heard the familiar voice calling him. “Max! Where are you going off to?” David inquired. “Away from you.” An unexpected hand from David picked him up by his sweater. “Well i’m afraid you can’t do that, Max. That dragon seems dangerous, and we can’t have any stray campers in the forest when they might still be wandering!” The joyful camp counselor didn’t realize that Max was only half listening to his rambling. ‘There’s got to be some way he could sneak away without David catching him.’ Max thought, looking at the side. Then he remembered that stunt he pulled when he got that old book. ‘If i could do it on command..’ Max almost didn’t realize that David had finished his lecture to him. He tugged away from David's grasp, and fixed his hoodie. One of his hands scraped a scar on his back. He flinched. Max really hoped that David didn’t see that. “Let me walk you back to camp.” He put out his hand so Max could take it, but instead he went ahead, intentionally ignoring the kind gesture. ‘Just you wait, Camp Man, I'll be out of this camp before you know it.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone wanted me to clear things up with the dragons, so i will:  
> Icewings are basically ice dragons; they have a sub-zero breath and can survive freezing temperatures. They also have extremely sharp claws.  
> Rainwings are considered the lazy species. They can camouflage into their surroundings and have venom that can melt any living thing.  
> Those are the only two you need to understand the story for now. if you guys need more clarification, you can check out the Wings of Fire wiki.


	8. Chapter 7

Today was a Saturday, which means Gwen and David leave out activities to do inside the Mess hall so we wouldn’t burn the camp down. Which is ironic because it didn't stop me, Neil and Nikki from trying. Today, though, Gwen made everyone take their activities inside. Which would have been fine if It was just her monitoring the kids. It would have been easy to sneak away. 

Unfortunately, David was overlooking the campers as well, specifically the trio. So instead of easily sneaking out behind Gwen’s back, he had to formulate a plan to get past the both of them. Max didn’t know why his brain decided not to work and come up with a working plan, but then he spotted Space kid daydreaming and looking out the window, surprisingly close to him. While Neil was trying to make a molecular structure with popsicle sticks and clay balls, Max made sure the coast was clear. Gwen was talking to Ered, while David was asking Dolph nervously about his questionable artwork. Luckily, they were close to each other at the moment.

‘Perfect.’ Max thought.  
“Space kid!” He whispered. Spacekid was snapped out of his daze, and faced Max. His mouth formed a grin.  
“Why hello Max! What do you need?” Space kid said, his voice being slightly muffled by a fishbowl around his head.  
“Space kid, I need a favor.” Max said, continuing in a lower tone. “Can you distract the counsellors for me?” Spacekid’s eyes lit up after he finished. He was about to say something, but it looked as if a hint of hesitation crossed his thoughts.  
Space Kid was mumbling in a hushed voice. “If you’re trying to sneak out, I don’t think it's a good idea. Those dragons looked pretty mean and-” Max cut him off.

“I’ll be fine. Can you distract them or not?” Max hissed, trying not to alert David or Gwen. Space kid looked nervous, but shook himself and nodded with bright eyes. At this point, all he needed to do was camouflage himself as a human. Somehow. He looked around. Max couldn’t let anyone see him do this, or they might tell David. No one seemed to notice him going underneath the table.  
Now that he was well hidden from the counsellors, he tried to focus on going invisible. Closing his eyes, he focused on how the room looked. Max remembered the creaky green tables, the wooden supporters, and the window that Space kid was looking out of. Max slowly opened his right eye, taking a look at his hand. It worked, but his happiness was short lived. As soon as Max opened both his eyes, his hand appeared once more.  
He needed to make sure he could control his emotions before he could walk out scot free. Max tried again, and managed to turn invisible quicker than before. He slowly sneaked out of his hiding place. Now he needed to make sure it worked. Slowly, making sure that the wooden floorboards wouldn't creak, he waved a hand in front of Neil. No reaction. 

Max felt a little giddy, but swiftly calmed himself. Is this how David feels every day? Max doesn’t think he could take it. ‘Okay. The hard parts’ done. Now, I need an exit.’ he surveyed the door. He quickly dismissed the thought of sneaking out through there. That creaky-ass door was the reason he got caught last time. He felt a light breeze coming from behind him. Max turned around to see that the window was wide open! Max was pretty small for his age, and that is not a very helpful trait. This time, Max could use his size at his advantage. He braced himself by walking back a few paces, and gained a running start. Max jumped out the window, and landed roughly on the ground. He forgot that the grass didn’t surround the entire mess hall, and dusted himself off before running away. As soon as he reached those signature spruce tree branches that hid him so well, he let the camouflage drop.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max tries his luck on some magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imnotdeadipromise-

“Ok. So far so good.” Max mumbled. He had about half an hour before David realized Max was gone and had to find him. Maybe less. Max took a glance around him. This wasn’t as familiar to Max. He usually entered the forest from his tent, which is on the opposite side of camp. Even though it was the same forest, the blinding sun barely managed to come through the thick branches, making the forest seem a lot more sinister than before. Max would have never admitted it, but he was a little scared. He didn’t say anything, but that dragon kind of worried him. Icewings don’t just appear out of nowhere. This isn’t just some asshole who decided to scare a kid and threaten this camp just for a laugh. There are more of them.

He was so lost in his thoughts that Max didn’t realize the forest opened up here to reveal a small clearing. Here, the sun shined brightly, and caused Max to squint. He was just getting used to the dark forest. He checked to make sure nobody was around, and slowly took out the ancient book. Max hadn’t known where to put it, so he just carried it with him at all times. It wasn’t a good idea in hindsight, but it was his best choice. At least It's a better hiding spot than under the bunk in Max and Neil’s tent. By now, it was mid-day. Max got comfortable under a tree and began to skim the worn book for something interesting . The inside was just as worn out as the cover, its pages showing signs of use around the corners. Some pages were ripped; which usually varied between a small nick or an entire page being missing. After he looked through the book, Max noticed something strange. The ink seemed more ‘fresh’ in some places. The newer ink was mostly used to write a note here or there, maybe a new spell in a blank space. It's not like someone else touched this book, unless there’s a ghost in the attic, which honestly doesn’t sound that unexpected.

After going through the book again, instead looking for a spell that he could learn. He was never keen on using magic, but hey. It might be useful someday. At some point, he came across a fire spell. Nothing special about it, just a plain fireball, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. Usually fire magic leaves the user with some sort of burn or injury; that's why many beginner magicians stick away from it until they have more skill. The thing about this particular spell was that it didn’t burn the user, no matter how much protection you didn’t have. Though, unlike plain vanilla fire magic, it needed something to use the magic on, rather than just fire itself. Now that he thought of it, that could be the reason it doesn’t burn you. 

Having his interest peak, he decided to try the spell with a pebble he found on the ground.   
“Okay, I gotta try this.” Max said, before trying it and burning his hand. It wasn’t anything too bad, he’ll look at it when he gets back. After a few more tries, he could get the fire going and not burn his hand. He tried to throw it to his other hand, but it was unsuccessful and the fireball landed about an inch away from his foot. He had to stomp out the flame before it spread to the grass. “That was a close call,” Max stopped his sentence abruptly before he noticed someone calling for him. “Fuck, how long was I out?” The voice was closer the next time it called. It was David, of course. Before Max managed to run out the clearing, he heard David's voice, a lot closer this time. 

“Max, I thought you stopped trying to escape Camp Campbell!” Max sighed, and faced David.  
“Nah, I still want to get out of this shithole.” Max said nonchalantly.  
“Language! Well, I need to get you back to camp; it's almost time for dinner, and we don’t need you trying to stay outside when it's dangerous in the forest!” His voice was cheerful as always, and he seemed full of energy although it was the end of the day. “How does he do that?” Max thought, slightly jealous of his ability to not be tired.   
“I can take care of myself, thanks.”


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> omg guys 
> 
> I actually updated this for once

By the time David and Max got to the Mess hall, the time for dinner had already passed, with most kids going to the ampitheatre or getting ready to go to sleep. David was clearly disappointed by this, but Max paid no mind. Max wasn’t planning to eat anyways, but David gave him an orange to make sure he ate something. Max didn’t think much of it, and went to his tent which he shared with Neil. This pairing was one thing he was grateful for, since Neil never stuck his nose into Max’s business, and he kept his science-y shit in his side of the tent. When Max actually came into the tent, Neil seemed to be missing. He was probably at the amphitheatre, where most of the other campers were. Preston had organized another play (he described it as, ‘Lord of the flies but with a twist.’) and persuaded everyone in the camp to come, but Max was too drained, emotionally and physically, to come to another play of Prestons’. Preston’s plays usually happen every week but it ended up being less than that half the time. His plays can range from completely original to putting twists on modern classics.

Max drowsily made his way to the tents, avoiding Nikki and Neil while they strolled over to the theatre where Preston would hold his show. Max was also able to sneak past Gwen, who was walking in the same direction of Nikki and Neil, probably going to the theatre as well. Max was about to walk past David before he noticed him at the last second.  
“Hey, Max! Did Preston tell you about his show in the theatre?”He signaled towards the direction he was walking before, but Max sighed and said, “Of course he told me; Preston told all of us about his play; but that doesn't mean I have to go.” Max looked over to David and saw that he looked slightly disheartened. Max put his hands in the pockets and was about to walk away before thinking about it. It wouldn’t hurt to go to the play, and if he didn’t like it that much he could always leave. 

“Fine, I’ll go to Preston’s stupid play.” David seemed to brighten at the sound of those words. He went to follow David and he held out his hand to Max once Max came a little closer. He was tempted, but Max kept his hands in his pockets and walked past David. “Don’t push it.” Max mumbled before keeping his pace with David as they both walked over to the theatre.  
\------------  
“Ahh, that play was so boring, the only thing that kept me up was the thought of dinner afterward.” Nikki said, rubbing her eyes a bit.  
“Well it might have been better if there were more people in the play-I swear that I saw Preston as five different characters in the entire show.” Neil crossed his arms while he tried to keep up with Nikki as she walked-ran over to the cafeteria. Once the two kids entered, they saw Max sitting by a corner with a tray of weird slop and some rice -at least, probably rice- and an apple that seemed to have a bite in it; which was the only sign that Max even ate the food in the tray at all. They also saw Ered in the corner with her mp3 and a tray that was already half eaten. They seemed to be the only campers here for now. Max was picking at the green varnish on the table, which was already peeling off because of old age. Neil and Nikki waved at Max, who nodded slightly to his right, signaling some spots he saved for them. The two quickly got some food(?) and went to the spots Max had saved for them. 

“So, what did you think about the play?” Nikki said curiously, before shoving her fork into the slop and trying to pick it up without it falling apart.  
“Do you think I actually watched the play without falling asleep halfway?” Max said sarcastically. He didn’t really fall asleep in the play, but it certainly felt like he would. Nikki nodded a bit before eating some more of whatever was on the plate. Max looked over at Neil which was hesitantly poking the rice. It seemed like he gave up on the slop; which was understandable, since it tasted like wood chippings (how do you even get meat to taste like that?). It wasn’t long before most of the other campers went into the cafeteria to get some of the dinner that was being served. 

The campers came in groups-such as Nerris with Harrison and Nurf with Dolph- and all of them seemed tired. It was probably for different reasons other than the play, since it was kind of late in the evening. Preston was the last to come in, but somehow the least tired out of all of the people who wandered into the cafeteria. Max finished his apple reluctantly-he had to eat something, but wasn’t in the mood to eat any sort of dinner, especially the meat. After he tried a bit of it, he felt like throwing up right after. He’s pretty sure Rainwings are prone to eating fruits and vegetables; he’s never met a Rainwing that likes meat, after all. That doesn’t matter anyways, since it didn't stop his father from serving it in practically every meal Max gets, If I get any, period. After staring and poking at the plate for a bit and zoning out, Max shook his head before realizing Neil had asked a question. Neil stared at Max, curious.  
“Wait, what?” Max asked.  
“I said, ‘Hey Max, why aren’t you eating the meat on your plate?’ I mean, I get why you wouldn’t- it tastes pretty strange.”  
“I don't like it. I actually don't like meat in general.” Max huffed and looked away. He heard Neil do a sort of, ‘Oh’ and shifted in his seat. Max stared at him in the corner of his eye. Neil looked as if he was about to say something, but hesitated. Max guessed that Neil assumed every dragon eats meat, which does make sense, I guess. That's how most dragons are portrayed anyways. 

“I dunno, this food isn’t that bad, if you ignore the ‘there’s probably wood in this’ part.” Nikki said after taking a small bite. Nikki’s animal wasn’t shown yet, but according to Nikki’s mom and David, they are sure that the counterpart will appear soon. Nikki fantasizes about her animal counterpart being a giant bear, or a platypus so she can understand what the mascot is saying (even though Neil has proven to her that you can’t just talk to animals who are the same counterpart as yours). 

Neil sighed, “How could you possibly like the food? You said yourself how there is literal wood in it!” Nikki took a second glance at her fork and shrugged. Neil threw his hands into the air in exasperation. Max cracked a small smile while the two playfully argued about the Quartermaster’s food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might post the next one soon
> 
> and if i dont, this isn't cancelled! The only reason I haven't been updating this story is because Ive lost a lot of motivation and family stuff


End file.
